What is Blue Ocean Strategy? Examples, Pros & Cons!

What is Blue Ocean Strategy? Examples, Pros & Cons!

Hello readers! It is a new day and we are back with a new topic of discussion exclusively for you all!

Almost all of us have been to beaches for a weekend getaway or long vacations! If not holidays, we have definitely come across visuals of oceans and seas on social media and televisions. Haven’t we? Well, oceans are vast, deep, massive, wide and are the most baffling natural wonders of the world. Proper explorations and researches can give way to incredible discoveries and provide us information about its scopes and untapped prospects.

In a similar fashion, a path-breaking strategy, known as Blue Ocean Strategy, was introduced by  W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne. It is a pacifist marketing scheme and is considered a strategic planning tool for assessing a business. A Blue Ocean Analogy is utilized to unlock the wider, unfathomable, powerful and vast potential in the unexplored market space in terms of profitable growth. This strategic planning theory is an escape from the general notion of benchmarking the competition and focusing on lump sum figures.

What exactly is a Blue Ocean Strategy?

Blue Ocean Strategy is all about devising and acquiring the uncontested market forum by spawning a new demand.

Since the industries are in a state of non-existence, there is absolutely no relevance of peer comparison. The strategy bags the new demand by familiarizing unique products with advanced features that stand apart from the crowd.

In other words, the strategy spurs companies to offer extremely valuable products to the consumers. Thus, it supports the company to incur large profits and surpass the competition. The price tags of the products are generally kept on the steeper side because of their monopoly. Blue Ocean approach shuns the ideology of outperforming the competition and asserts to recreate the market boundaries and operate within the nascent space.

The kind of leadership and management required to initiate a Blue Ocean Strategy differs from the management of corporations that have short-term ambitions and mainly concentrates on increasing shareholder value by pushing up the stock prices via buybacks, mergers, and acquisitions. The Blue Ocean Strategy can be applied to all the sectors or, businesses and is not limited to just one kind.

On the contrary to the concept of Blue Ocean Industries, there exists Red Ocean Industries. Let us understand the concept in brief before moving to further analysis.

Red Ocean Industries

Red Oceans are those industries that are currently in existence or, what we call the contested market forum.

In Red Oceans, there are well-defined industry perimeters that are known and out in open to all. Due to the acquaintance with the competitive rules and acceptance of the drawn boundaries, the market space gets crowded and there is a consequent reduction in growth and profitability. When the product comes under the burden of pricing pressure there is always a chance that a firm’s operations could come under notable menace.

Companies under Red oceans strive to outperform their rivals by grasping a higher proportion of existing market share at another company’s loss. In order to keep themselves afloat in the marketplace, proponents of Red Ocean Strategy concentrate on creating competitive advantages by examining the blueprints of their peers/competitors. Such a saturated market space makes way for a toxic competition which ends up as nothing but an ocean full of rivals fighting over a dwindling profit pool. Such firms mainly seek to capture and redistribute wealth instead of creating wealth.

These kinds of market forums can be correlated with the shark-infested ocean waters which remain spilled with blood. Hence, the coinage of the term Red Oceans. Thus, the business world has pulled up their socks and is striving to skip the “Red Oceans” to create their very own “Blue Oceans”.

Examples of Blue Ocean Industry

Let us learn how organizations that have followed the path of Blue Ocean Strategy has undergone outstanding growth and profitability!

Uber Cab is a brainchild of the Blue Ocean Strategy and has dramatically transformed the picture of the transportation industry by discarding the nuisance of booking cabs, denial of services, meter issues and unwanted arguments.

It is a ridesharing service that enables customers to book their rides with the ease of swipes and taps. It also permits users to trace a  driver’s progression towards the pickup point in real-time through the medium of a smartphone application called Uber App.

Uber devised a new market by the amalgamation advanced technology and modern devices. It tried to differentiate itself from the regular cab companies and in turn developed a low-cost business model that offers flexible payments, pricing strategies and generates good revenues for both the drivers and the company. In the initial stages, Uber was successful in capturing the uncontested market space but was eventually flooded by the competitors. In spite of that, it continues to command the market and is speedily expanding across the world. As of 2019, Uber approximately has 110 million riders worldwide and holds 69% of the market share in the United States.

2) iTunes

Apple headed into the space of digital music with its unique and eminent product ie. iTunes in 2003. In previous days, conventional mediums like compact discs (CD) were put to use to disseminate and listen to music.

When iTunes ventured into the market, it solved the basic problems which were faced by the recording industry. As a result, iTunes cut down the practice of illegally downloading music while simultaneously catering to the demand for single songs versus entire albums in a digitalized version. High-quality music at a reasonable price offered by Apple became a talk of the town. All the available Apple products have iTunes to download music and have largely ruled the market space for decades. It is also recognized for driving the growth of digital music.

These examples of the Blue Ocean Strategy can enlighten future startups regarding the execution of a  strategic planning scheme and successfully unlocking new demand.

How to find and develop/Launch them?

Blue Ocean Strategy becomes the need of the hour when supply surpasses demand in a market. When there is limited scope for further growth, businesses try and search for verticals for discovering new business lines where they can enjoy the advantage of uncontested market share or ‘Blue Ocean’.

In order to find and identify an attractive  Blue Ocean, one needs to take into consideration the “Four Actions Framework” to devise the aspects of buyer value in creating a new value curve. The Four Actions Framework emulates strategic triumphs and guides towards the path of launching a Blue Ocean initiative.

The framework poses four key questions, namely:

A) Raise

It includes points that must be blossomed by industry in reference to the line of products, price tags and caliber of services. A startup must analyze the pros and cons of the existing organizations and their strategies for key aspects of differentiation.

2) Reduce

It points out the arenas of an organization’s product or, service which foreplays a crucial character in the industry but is not absolutely essential in nature. Therefore,  the proportion of the products can be curtailed without entirely eradicating them.

3) Eliminate

It points out the arenas of an organization or industry which could be eliminated absolutely for the purpose of cutting down the costs and also to fabricate a completely new market. At times, newly invented products can lead to self-assassination of the existing products and thus,  leads to an unwillingness to interfere with the current revenue source.

4) Create

It nudges the companies to shape up trailblazing products. The introduction of an entirely new product line or, service leads to the establishment of a new market and points of differentiation. Identification of the needs of the target market provides sound knowledge regarding the addition of unique measures and consequently tracking the progress for illustrating a Blue Ocean.

Now that we have discussed the Blue ocean strategy and how to find them, let us also discuss the pros and cons of this strategy.

Pros of Blue Ocean Strategy

Here are a few of the advantages of using the blue ocean strategy:

  1. Blue Ocean Strategy cooperates with organizations to find uncontested markets and avoid matured and saturated markets.
  2. It assists to move from the impediments of competing within the existing industry and cost structure and to gradually migrate towards constructive value improvement. In short, it demonstrates how to break free from the traditional strategic models and to expand profitability and demand for the industry by using the analysis.
  3. Value innovation is the backbone of a Blue Ocean Strategy. Value innovation is the alliance of innovation with price, utility, and cost positions. It eventually creates new value/demand for consumers and thereby, expands the chances of growth potential.
  4. Blue Ocean Strategy enables a fundamental transformation in mindset. It develops mental horizons and helps in recognizing the opportunities.
  5. Blue Ocean Strategy is based on “time and again” proven data rather than unproven theories. It is based on practical approaches that have proven results during live market executions.
  6. Products under the concept of the Blue Ocean Strategy doesn’t make a consumer choose between value and affordability. It is the simultaneous pursual of differentiation and low-cost theorem.
  7. Creating blue oceans is non-zero-sum with high payoff possibilities.

Cons of Blue Ocean Strategy

Let’s us also look at a few of the common cons of using this strategy:

  1. It’s quite difficult to come up with futuristic ideas and identify colossal and untapped markets.
  2. Nominating an articulate Blue Ocean Strategy is a result of a calculated and detailed research process backed by extensive analysis. It is to be kept in mind that there is no magic formula or, silver bullet.
  3. Venturing into a market in the early phase comes with baggage of risk. There is a high possibility that the customers might not understand the grass root of the products and services because of the absence of a fully developed technology.
  4. Production of a new market is never easy because an organization has to be smart and clear regarding its customer base and ways to impart education about new ideas, new products, and new solutions. It also requires clarity about the trade-offs, obstacles and the workforce.
  5. Opting for a different ocean i.e the Blue Ocean, requires a lot of patience, persistence trust, preparation, and faith. It is also extremely paramount to look at initial indicators for confirming the fact that “fishing”  is not being done in a dead sea.
  6. On finding a new ocean, other sharks from the saturated markets aka the Red Oceans and other adjacent oceans will be lured to the new market. Thus, building strategically defensive alternatives would be a wise step. Defensive alternatives majorly consist of brand power, technological advancement, and speed of execution.

Also read: What is a BCG Matrix? Explanation with Example!

Let us quickly summarise what we discussed in this article.

A path-breaking strategy known as Blue Ocean Strategy is a pacifist marketing scheme and is considered a strategic planning tool for assessing a business. It is all about devising and acquiring the uncontested market forum by spawning a new demand. Since, the industries are in a state of non- existence, there is absolutely no relevance of peer comparison. The strategy bags the new demand by familiarizing unique products with advanced features that stand apart from the crowd. Blue Ocean approach shuns the ideology of outperforming the competition and asserts to recreate the market boundaries and operate within the nascent.

These days, the Blue Ocean Strategy becomes the need of the hour when supply surpasses demand in a market. In order to find and identify an attractive  Blue Ocean, one needs to take into consideration the “Four Actions Framework” to devise the aspects of buyer value in creating a new value curve. The framework poses four key questions, namely, Raise, Reduce, Eliminate & Create.

That’s all for this article. Let me know what you think about the blue ocean strategy in the comment section below. Cheers!

first mover advantage

Is First Mover a competitive advantage for a firm?

Who are First Movers?

Advantages of First Movers:

Disadvantages of First movers:

Is First mover a competitive advantage for a firm?

Also read: Pat Dorsey’s Four Moats for Picking Quality Companies

Closing Thoughts:

Cyclical and Non-cyclical stocks: How do they differ?

What are cyclical stocks?

Cyclical industries usually may include durable goods (that last for a long time into the future), non-durable goods (that have a short shelf life) and services like automobile, construction, and travel.

Around 75 percent of the stocks listed in the stock exchange are cyclical and follow the market trends. A few examples include Ferrari NV (RACE), Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL).

What are non-cyclical stocks?

non cyclical industry

Defensive stocks include goods and services in industries that are not affected by market fluctuations such as utilities, food, and medicines. It is basically any good or service that people will buy whether or not the economy is doing well. A few examples of defensive stock companies include Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) and Sysco Corporation (SYY).

Bonus: The top-down strategy

Also read:

Micro vs Macro Economics cover

Micro vs Macro Economics -What’s the Difference?

Economics is the study of how humans use limited resources (land, labor, capital and enterprise) to manufacture goods and services and satisfy their unlimited needs and distribute it among themselves. It is divided into two broad branches, microeconomics and macroeconomics.

Each branch has its own policies and regulations relating to different sectors such as agriculture, labor market and the government. Microeconomics is the study of the behavior of an individual, firm or household in the market while macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole- that is, the individuals, households and firms collectively.

What is Microeconomics?

Microeconomics was first introduced by the economist Adam Smith and is the study of the economy at a lower level, it is commonly termed the ‘bottom-up’ approach. This branch of economics focuses on how decisions made by people and organizations can affect the economy as a whole. As individuals, we make numerous decisions everyday from what clothes to wear to what food to eat. These decisions are made by the different agents in the economy and serve as the basis for microeconomists to study how they affect supply and demand and ultimately the economy as a whole.

Tools such as supply, demand, consumer behavior, spending and purchasing power of people are used by economists to build models that they base their learnings on, one such model is the supply and demand curve. By understanding the buying and spending habits of people, economists come up with various theories to understand relationships between different elements and how these small parts fit into the larger picture.

However, in the real world, things are different and cannot always be represented through a model. Hence some economists study subsets of microeconomics such as human behavior which is the actions taken by an individual when making a decision and the behavioral model which uses disciplines such as psychology and sociology to understand how people make decisions.

Since microeconomics is the study of the economy at a lower level, many people use it as a starting point for learning economics. The theories used in microeconomics are then used to study the economy at a larger scale- also known as macroeconomics.

Also read: What is Top Down and Bottom Up approach in stock investing?

What is Macroeconomics?

While microeconomics is a bottom-up approach, macroeconomics is considered a top-down approach as it is the study of the economy on a larger scale. Prior to 1929, many economists only studied microeconomics (people’s individual decisions) however after the crash of 1929 (aka the great depression), many economists were unable to explain its cause. They found that there were forces in the economy, which based on people’s decisions, could have a positive and negative impact. In addition to looking at individual decisions, it was also important to look at the big picture.

Macroeconomics is the study of larger issues affecting the economy such as economic growth, unemployment, trade, inflation, recessions and how decisions made by the government can affect the economy. For example, the Central Bank creates their interest rate policies based on the macroeconomic conditions in the country and around the world.

John Maynard Keynes is considered the founding father of Macroeconomics and his understanding of the subject was largely influenced by the Great Depression. During the 1930s Keynes wrote an essay titled The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money where he outlined the broad principles of Macroeconomics that led to the development of Keynesian economics. Keynesian economics are macroeconomic theories about how during a recession, in the short run, the output is influenced by the aggregate demand in the economy. Milton Freidman another pioneer of macroeconomics used monetary policy to explain the reasons for the depression.

Micro vs Macro Economics -The key differences

micro vs macro economics big picture-min

As mentioned earlier, microeconomics is the study of individual and household decisions and the issues they face. This could be analyzing the demand for a certain good or service and how this affects the production levels of a company. It could also be the study of effects of certain regulations on a business.

While macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole. This involves looking at the gross domestic product (GDP) of the economy, the unemployment rates and the effects of inflation, deflation and monetary policy. For example, they may look at how an increase in taxes can affect the economy using the GDP, national income and inflation rate as a metric rather than individual factors.

Microeconomics is useful for determining the prices of goods and services in the economy along with the costs of the factors of production (land, labor, capital) while macroeconomics helps maintain price stability and creates policy to resolve problems dealing with unemployment, inflation and deflation.

However, both micro and macroeconomics come with their limitations. For example, the study of microeconomics assumes that there is full employment in the economy. This can lead to unrealistic theories as this is never true. In macroeconomics, there is a fallacy of composition where economists assume that what is true for an individual is true for the economy as a whole. However, in the real world, the aggregate factors may not be true for individuals too.

Micro and macroeconomics are interlinked

By definition, microeconomics and macroeconomics cover completely different aspects of the economy and while this is true, the two fields are similar and also interdependent on each other.

When dealing with inflation, many people think of it as a macroeconomic theory as it deals with interest rate and monetary policy. However, inflation is an important part of microeconomics because as inflation raises the prices of goods and services, it reduces the purchasing power that affects many individuals and businesses in the economy. Like inflation, government reforms such as minimum wage and tax rates have large implications in microeconomics.

Another similarity in microeconomics is the distribution of the limited resources. Microeconomics studies how the resources are distributed among individuals while macroeconomics studies how they are distributed among groups that consist of individuals.

Also read: How Does The Stock Market Affect The Economy?

Although micro and macroeconomics affect different levels of the economy and cover different policies, they are in fact two sides of the same coin and often overlap each other. The most important distinction is their approach to the economy. Microeconomics is ‘bottom-up’ and macroeconomics is ‘top-down.’

Petrol, Diesel price history in India

A brief study of Petrol & Diesel price history in India

Crude Oil. You definitely have heard of this word, right? Crude oil is a naturally occurring unrefined petroleum product. It consists of organic materials and hydrocarbons. When the crude oil is refined, first it is heated until it starts boiling. Then, the boiling liquid is separated into various liquids and gases. These liquids are further utilized in making petrol, diesel, paraffin, and other petroleum products.

The products and by-products of crude oil are used in direct or indirect consumption by the end users. They are also used in manufacturing several commodities by a wide range of industries. Crude oil is also traded in the commodity market like gold, silver, etc. This results in the global price of crude oil to fluctuate. In India, only one-fifth of the crude oil requirements are met from domestic production. Therefore, we are heavily dependent on the US, African, and Middle East countries to support our nation’s demand for petrol and diesel.

How the prices of diesel and petrol are determined?

The Oil Marketing Companies or OMCs take crude oil to the refinery houses to generate petrol, diesel, kerosene and other products. After that, they dispose those products to the dealers of the same. In India, 90% of the share of oil marketing is owned by Indian oil corporation Ltd (IOCL), Bharat petroleum corporation ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan petroleum corporation ltd (HPCL).

Here is the exact process of how the price determination of diesel and petrol takes place in India.

First, an OMC imports crude oil from an oil producing nation like UAE. The cost and freight are the initial costs incurred on the same. Import charges (plus insurance charges, losses due to transportation and port fees) are further added to the same. Next, the Government of India adds Customs Duty on such crude oil, after which they are carried to the refinery houses.

The refineries charge Refinery Transfer Charge for their work. After that, such refined oil is sold to the dealers by the OMC at Depot Price after incurring inland freight on the same. So the total desired price is the result of all the Cost & Freight charges, Import charges, Refinery Transfer Price, Inland Freight, OMC’s Marketing costs, and Profit margin.

In addition, the Central Government of India adds Excise Duty on the Depot Price and the State Governments add State VAT on the same. Further, the dealers also add their commission which is calculated on the basis of per liter. So, after adding all the costs and taxes, we get the Retail Price that a consumer pays for buying a liter of petrol or diesel.

If you compare the prices of diesel and petrol in the South Asian nations, you would find that the prices in India are always the highest. This is because our Government regulates the prices by imposing taxes. Ironically, when you would see the prices of the crude oil dropping, Indian government increases the Excise Duty and State VAT to not let the retail prices of diesel and petrol fall. On the other hand, when the prices of crude oil rises, here the Government doesn’t reduce the said taxes so that the prices of the fuels in the nation don’t undergo fluctuations.

Besides, there is no doubt in stating that the prices of diesel and petrol would vary from one state to another in India due to differences in commission pattern of OMCs and transportation charges.

Petrol & Diesel price history in India

Now, let us have a look at the price history of diesel and petrol in India over the last few years. Given below is a table which shows the petrol prices per liter in the four metropolitan cities in India.

Petrol Price history in India:

Date Chennai Mumbai Kolkata Delhi
05-11-2018 81.61 84.06 80.47 78.56
29-10-2018 82.86 85.24 81.63 79.75
29-09-2018 86.7 90.75 85.21 83.4
29-08-2018 81.22 85.6 81.11 78.18
29-07-2018 79.11 83.61 79.05 76.16
29-06-2018 78.4 83.06 78.23 75.55

As you can see from the above table, generally the petrol prices have been on the higher side in Mumbai. However, Delhi witnessed the most reasonable petrol prices in the last few months of 2018.

Further, here is the historical petrol price movement in the big four metropolitan cities in India.

Date Chennai Mumbai Kolkata Delhi
29-05-2018 81.43 86.24 81.06 78.43
16-05-2017 68.26 76.55 68.21 65.32
17-05-2016 62.47 66.12 66.44 63.02
16-05-2015 69.45 74.12 73.76 66.29
07-06-2014 74.71 80.11 79.36 71.51
23-05-2013 65.9 71.13 70.35 63.09
24-05-2012 77.53 78.57 77.88 73.18
15-05-2011 67.22 68.33 67.71 63.37
01-04-2010 52.13 52.2 51.67 47.93
27-02-2010 51.59 51.68 51.15 47.43
02-07-2009 48.58 48.76 48.25 44.72
29-01-2009 44.24 44.55 44.05 40.62
24-05-2008 49.64 50.54 48.98 45.56
16-05-2007 47.44 48.38 46.86 42.85
10-06-2006 51.83 53.5 51.07 47.51
05-06-2006 51.83 53.5 51.07 47.51
20-06-2005 44.26 45.93 43.79 40.49
16-04-2003 35.48 37.25 34 32.49

When you look at the longer time period shown by the above table, the picture looks similar as well. Anyways, one comparable takeaway is that, in every metropolitan city, the petrol price has consistently gone up at the same rate in the last one and half decades. (Note: You can find the latest prices of petrol in India here).

crude oil price

Diesel Price history in India:

Now, let us talk about the historical prices of diesel per liter in India. Here is a short-term view of diesel prices in the four Indian metropolitan cities:

Date Chennai Mumbai Kolkata Delhi
05-11-2018 77.34 76.67 75.02 73.16
29-10-2018 78.08 77.4 75.7 73.85
29-09-2018 78.91 79.23 76.48 74.63
29-08-2018 73.69 74.05 72.6 69.75
29-07-2018 71.41 71.79 70.37 67.62
29-06-2018 71.12 71.49 69.93 67.38

The table given above shows that in the last few months of 2018, the diesel prices first have gone up and then they showed consolidation at the beginning of November.

Next, here is the long-term diesel price history in India. If you look at the table shared below, it is easily understood that the diesel prices in the said four Indian cities have actually witnessed consistently rising prices in the last fifteen years.

Date Chennai Mumbai Kolkata Delhi
29-05-2018 73.18 73.79 71.86 69.31
16-05-2017 58.07 60.47 57.23 54.9
17-05-2016 53.09 56.81 54.1 51.67
16-05-2015 55.74 59.86 56.85 52.28
07-06-2014 61.12 65.84 61.97 57.28
23-05-2013 52.92 57.17 53.97 49.69
24-05-2012 43.95 45.28 43.74 40.91
15-05-2011 43.8 45.84 43.57 41.12
01-04-2010 38.05 39.88 37.99 38.1
27-02-2010 37.78 39.6 37.73 35.47
02-07-2009 34.98 36.7 35.03 32.87
29-01-2009 32.82 34.45 33.21 30.86
24-05-2008 34.44 36.12 33.96 31.8
16-05-2007 33.3 34.94 32.87 30.25
10-06-2006 35.51 39.96 34.96 32.47
05-06-2006 35.95 39.96 34.96 32.47
20-06-2005 31.51 35.2 30.8 28.45
16-04-2003 23.55 26.7 23.51 21.12

Quick Note: You can find the latest price of diesel in India here.

diesel price

Difference between prices of Petrol & Diesel in India:

Below is a table shared for your reference which shows the price gap in diesel and petrol in the Indian metro cities during the mid of the year 2016.

City Diesel Price /Liter Petrol Price /Liter Price Gap
Chennai Rs 55.82 Rs 62 Rs 6.18 / Litre
Mumbai Rs 59.6 Rs 67.11 Rs 7.51 / Litre
Kolkata Rs 56.48 Rs 66.03 Rs 9.55 / Litre
New Delhi Rs 54.28 Rs 62.51 Rs 8.23 / Litre

Further, here is another table that would give you an idea of the price gap with regard to diesel and petrol during as of November 2018.

Date Diesel Price /Liter Petrol Price /Liter Price Gap
Chennai Rs 74.99 Rs 78.88 Rs 3.89 / Litre
Mumbai Rs 74.34 Rs 81.50 Rs 7.16 / Litre
Kolkata Rs 72.83 Rs 77.93 Rs 5.1 / Litre
New Delhi Rs 70.97 Rs 75.97 Rs 5 / Litre

From the above tables, it can be clearly noticed how substantially the price gap has been narrowed down within the period of around two years.

Consequences of petrol and diesel price hike

As you might have observed from the above tables, the fuel price in India has undergone a significant hike over the last multiple years. So, what does it imply? Does it mean that the overall cost of living in India has gone up too? If you look back in 2018, the rate of consumer inflation in India was around 4.75%

When the price of fuel increases, in general, it narrows down the gap between disposable income and expenditure of the consumers. It means that the consumers will try to reduce the consumption of luxury commodities like automobiles and electronic equipment in order to manage their necessities comfortably.

Hike in fuel price also has a direct adverse effect on the revenues of a few industries like tyres and fertilizers as the retail prices of their outputs shoot upwards. However, if you look at the financials of oil producing companies in India, there is no doubt in saying that they do enjoy a gala time during such period.

Further, you might think that only those companies which produce crude oil based products suffer during the fuel price bull run. But, the fact is that most of the companies in our nation (belonging to diverse industries) suffer as a result of the price hike. Even if you consider the FMCG industry, the cost of its products goes up considerably as a result of the upward movement in the prices of diesel and petrol. This happens because transportation costs go up significantly.

Now, what kind of impact can you expect to see in financial markets during fuel price hike? Well, when the price of diesel and petrol goes high, not only people will try to cut down their unnecessary expenses but they may even reduce financial investing. In order to finance their necessities, people would refrain from putting their money in the financial markets.

Therefore, will the banks have adequate funds to advance the businesses? Not really! Can the corporate organizations listed in NSE and BSE comfortably raise capital through IPO and FPO? Certainly not! Will the Asset Management Companies of Mutual Funds have an adequate corpus to pour into the market? No, my friend, they won’t have!

Also read: Rupee Depreciation: Is it a cause of concern?

Final thoughts

The hike in the global price of crude oil depends primarily on the demand-supply theory that we study in Economics. However, it also depends on other factors like the trade war, geopolitical tensions, and willingness of oil-producing countries to charge a higher price. As we had already seen earlier that hike in crude oil price results in inflation. So, to fight against the same, the Central Government charges more taxes and duties on diverse stuff. For a similar reason, the RBI also instructs the commercial banks to increase their interest rates on loans so as to squeeze money supply in the Indian economy.

Further, the price of petrol and diesel can be controlled if we lay emphasis on a few points. Firstly, price controlling mechanism has to be adopted either partially or fully. The half of Retail Prices of fuels in India consists of taxes and duties. The government (both central and state) does need to look into the matter. It would also be great if the OMCs can try to witness some of the price burdens that the ultimate consumers have to bear in our nation.

Finally, the consumption of petrol and diesel in India in terms of US Dollar is even higher than the GDPs of many small nations across the globe. And that’s why the government and the people need to consider petrol and diesel price hike in India seriously.

How Does The Government Control Inflation cover

How Does The Government Control Inflation?

We cannot minimize the explosive effects of inflation. High inflation has the ability to topple governments, ruin nations and reduce economic growth. It discourages savings and reduces the overall productivity in the country. In its creepiest form, inflation can reduce the purchasing power of people, this means the pensions and savings of people can now buy less than it did before.

In response to this, governments have many powerful tools they can use to control the rate of inflation in the economy. These policies have been discussed in detail in this article.

What is inflation?

Inflation can be described as a continuous increase in the general level of prices. In some cases, inflation can be used to encourage spending in the economy. However, this is not always the case as inflation can often get out of hand and the purchasing power of people drastically decreases. The government will then have to intervene to create balance in the economy.

Inflation can be measured using the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The bureau of labour statistics chooses close to 500,000 products from more than a 100 categories which are included into a ‘basket’. The prices of the goods are used to calculate the price index.

Effects of inflation

Inflation, depending on its severity, has the ability to disrupt economies. There is an uneven distribution of income that can affect many sectors in the economy. They are discussed as follows:

— Effect on various economic groups- If there is low inflation in the economy, job seekers can benefit from this as increased demand will lead to a rise in employment. However, an unhealthy level of inflation can be disastrous for the economy as people pull their money out of financial institutions and their purchasing power reduces.

— Government spending- During inflation, the government, like individuals, have to pay more for wages and supplies. In order to raise more revenue the government can increase taxes but people will may have the ability to pay for them and some groups will be affected more than others.

— Savings and Investment- If inflation is on the rise, it is not a great time for savers as the decrease in the value of money reduces the value of savings. Many people move their investments to stocks and property during inflation. It is a favorable time for borrowers because the value of the money they owe reduces.

How Does The Government Control Inflation?

If the rate of inflation in the economy goes beyond a rate that is uncontrollable, the government has to intervene with policies to help stabilize the economy. Since inflation is the result of too much expenditure on the economy, the policies are created to restrict the growth of money. There are three ways the government can control the inflation- the monetary policy, the fiscal policy, and the exchange rate. They are discussed as follows.

— The Monetary Policy

Monetary policy is a tool used by the government to control the amount of money circulated in the economy. This includes paper money, coins and bank deposits held by businesses and individuals in the economy. Monetary policy uses interest rates to control the quantity of money in the economy.

— Open market operations

When there is high inflation in the economy, the amount of money created by financial institutions needs to be restricted. The Federal Reserve Bank lowers the supply of money by selling their large securities to the public, specifically to security dealers. The buyers pay for the securities by writing checks on the deposits they hold in the commercial banks. This is an effective way to control the supply of money as the deposits of the commercial banks at the Federal Reserve Bank are the legal reserve for the banks. With the sale of securities, the banks are forced to restrict their lending and security buying, therefore reducing the quantity of money in the economy.

— Increasing the reserve requirement

The reserve requirement refers to the amount of money that the commercial banks are required to have on deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank. A low reserve requirement means banks have more money to lend out which can increase the money supply. But when there is high inflation in the economy, the government increases the reserve requirement which restrains the growth of money and even reduces it.

— The rediscount rate

The rediscount rate is the rate of interest charged by the commercial banks. The commercial banks borrow from the Federal Reserve in exchange for a promissory note. In exchange, the Federal Bank increases the deposit of the bank. The rediscount rate controls the cost to banks for adding additional reserves. When inflation is high the bank increases the rediscount rate, which makes it more expensive for banks to buy reserves. This cost is usually translated to customers in the form of high interest rates on loans borrowed from commercial banks which ultimately reduces the supply of money in the economy. In order to control the supply of money in the economy with the monetary policy, the rediscount rate is used in conjunction with the reserve requirement and sale of securities.

— Fiscal policy

The Fiscal policy uses government spending and taxation to control the supply of money in the economy. The policy was designed by John Maynard Keynes who studied the relationship between aggregate spending and the amount of economic activity in society. He also claimed that government spending can be used to control aggregate demand.

— The decrease in government spending

Sending by the government constitutes a large part of the circular flow of income in the economy. During periods of high inflation, the government can reduce the spending to decrease the amount of money in circulation. In many instances, high government spending is the root cause of inflation. However, it is often hard for governments to differentiate between essential and non-essential expenditure so, the spending policy should be augmented by taxation.

— Increase in taxes

An increase in the level of taxes reduces the amount of money that people have to spend on good and services. The effect of the tax can vary with the kind of tax imposed, but any increase in tax would reduce spending in the economy. An increase in tax combined with a decrease in government spending can have a double-barrelled effect on the supply of money in the economy.

— Increase in savings

Another theory derived by Keynes was his belief in compulsory savings or deferred payments. In order to achieve this, the government should introduce public loans with a high rate of interest, attractive saving schemes and provident or pension funds. These measures lock people’s income into savings accounts for an extended period of time and are an effective way to control inflation.

Also read:

Inflation can have a major impact on the economy and can affect the government, investments and the purchasing power of people. A high rate of inflation for an extended period of time can lead an economy into a recession. Fortunately, the government has the ability to use the monetary and fiscal policies to help control the supply of money in the economy. When used in the conjunction, the policies can help achieve a lower rate of inflation and a more stabilized and balanced economy.

Rupee Depreciation: Is it a cause of concern?

How the Rupee value is determined?

Floating vs Fixed Vs Managed Rate System:

Year Exchange rate
(INR per USD)
1947 3.30
1949 4.76
1966 7.50
1975 8.39
1980 7.86
1985 12.38
1990 17.01
1995 32.427
2000 43.50
2005 (Jan) 43.47
2007 (Jan) 39.42
2008 (October) 48.88
2010 (22 January) 46.21
2012 (22 June) 57.15
2014 (12 Sep) 60.95
2016(20 Jan) 68.01
2017 (28 Mar) 65.04
2018 (9 May) 64.80
2018 (Oct) 74.00

Source: Wikipedia

Exchange rate inr per dollar

What TRIGGERS the increase in demand of currency?

Current Scenario of Currency in India

how the rupee fared last year-min

(Source: Bloomberg)

What are the different impacts?

Industry impact:

rupee appreciation and depreciation impact-min

Stock Market impact:

Also read: How Does The Stock Market Affect The Economy?

Fuel Shock:

How Does The Stock Market Affect The Economy cover 2

How Does The Stock Market Affect The Economy?

A stock is a type of security that represents an individual’s ownership in a company and a stock market is a place where an investor can buy and sell ownership of such assets.

Why do we have a stock market?

The stock market exists for two main reasons, the first is to provide a company with the opportunity to raise capital that can be used to expand and grow the business.

If a company issues one million shares that can sell at $4 a share, this allows them to raise $4 million for the business. Companies find it favorable to raise capital this way so they can avoid incurring debt and paying steep interest charges.

The stock market also provides investors with the opportunity to earn a share in the company’s profit.

One way to do this is to buy stocks and earn regular dividends on its value- that is the investor earns a certain amount of money for each stock they own.

Another way is to sell the stock to buyers for a profit when the price of the stock increases. If an investor buys a share for $20 and the price eventually increases to $25, the investor can sell the stock and realize a profit of 25%.

Also read: Why do Stock Markets Exist? And Why is it So Important?

How the Stock Market affects the Economy?

The increase and decrease in stock prices can influence numerous factors in the economy such as consumer and business confidence which can, in turn, have a positive or negative impact on the economy as a whole. Alternatively, different economic conditions can affect the stock market as well.

Here are a few ways the stock market can affect the economy of a country:

Movements in the Stock Market

The movements in the individual prices of stocks give the stock market a volatile character. As stock prices move up or down, their volatility can have a positive or negative impact on consumers and businesses.

In the event of a bull market or a rise in the prices of stocks, the overall confidence in the economy increases. People’s spending also increases as they become more optimistic about the market. More investors also enter the market and this feeds into greater economic development in the nation.

When the prices of stock fall for a continuously longer period, also known as a bear market, it has a negative effect on the economy. People are pessimistic about the economic conditions and news reports on falling stock prices can often create a sense of panic. Fewer investors enter the market and people tend to invest in lower-risk assets which further depresses the state of the economy.

bull and bear market

(Image credits:

Consumption and the Wealth effect

When stock prices rise and there is a bull market, people are more confident in the market conditions, and their investment increases. They tend to spend more on expensive items such as houses and cars. This is also known as the wealth effect which is how a change in a person’s income affects their spending habits and eventually leads to growth in the economy.

In the case of a bear market or a fall in stock prices, there is a negative wealth effect. It creates an environment of uncertainty among consumers and a fall in the value of their investment portfolios decreases spending on goods and services. This affects economic growth as consumer spending is a major component of Gross Domestic Product.

A common situation of the wealth effect was during the US housing market crash of 2008, which had a large negative impact on consumers wealth.

what's the economy

(Image credits: Investopedia)

Impact on Business Investment

Apart from consumer spending, business investment is also a key indicator of economic growth.

When stock prices are high, businesses are likely to make more capital investments due to high market values. Many companies issue an IPO during this time as market optimism is high and it is a good time to raise capital through the sale of shares. There is also more mergers and acquisitions during a bull market and firms can use the value of their stock to buy out other companies. This increased investment feeds into greater economic growth.

When the stock market is bearish, it has the opposite effect on investment. Confidence in the economy decreases and businesses are no longer eager to invest in the economy. The decrease in share price makes it harder for companies to raise funding in the stock market.

Other factors

The stock market also affects the bond market and pension funds. A large part of pension funds are invested in the stock market and a decrease in the price of shares will lower the value of the fund and affect future pension payments. This can lower economic growth as people who depend on pension income will tend to save more and this lowers spending and eventually the GDP.

While a fall in share prices has a negative impact on economic growth and GDP of a nation, it has a positive effect on the bond market. When there is a depression in the stock market, people look for other assets to invest their money in such as bonds or gold. They often provide a better return on investment than shares in the stock market.

Remember, it is always important to diversify your investment portfolio and spread your risk. Don’t throw all your eggs into one basket.

The stock market and the economy are not the same

Contrary to popular belief, the stock market and the economy are two different things. The GDP of an economy and the stock market gains are incompatible and, in fact, there is little comparison between the two. The major reason for this discrepancy is the difference in the size of the two markets. The economy depends on millions of factors that can have both a positive and negative impact, while the stock market is only affected by one factor, the supply and demand of stocks.

Also read:

For investors in the stock market, it is better to err on the side of caution and focus on the fundamentals of each stock rather than on the economy as a whole. As the saying goes ‘an economist is a trained professional paid to guess wrong about the economy’.


Aquinas in politics and ethics essay

As he explains, political rule may be exercised by the multitude, by a select few, or by one person. Attfield also endorses a form of consequentialism which takes into consideration, and attempts to balance, the many and possibly conflicting goods of different living things also see Varner for a defense of biocentric individualism with affinities to both consequentialist and deontological approaches.

Precisely because it is a natural institution, political society is not equipped to guide human beings toward the attainment of this higher supernatural vocation.

Inat Rome, he began the work of commenting on Aristotle with On the Soul, and during the next five or six years commented on eleven more Aristotelian works not all of these are complete.

Environmental ethics

An Interpretation of Thomistic Ethics. Thus the deep ecological movement became explicitly pluralist see Brennan ; c. When the case went to the U. Consequently, Aquinas in politics and ethics essay noted in 2. At one point, two of his brothers resorted to the measure of hiring a prostitute to seduce him.

As we have already seen, Aquinas believes that the human laws governing political societies must be somewhat limited in scope. And because the natural law does not simply enforce itself, the basic requirements of justice must be bolstered by an organized and civilized human authority ST, I-II, But let me go on then with my own branch of vorticism, about which I can probably speak with greater clarity.

Accordingly, human laws serve two purposes. Thomas is frequently said to have baptized Aristotle, which seems to mean that he fitted him to the Procrustean bed of Christian doctrine.

The peculiar activities of living things will be grouped under headings like nutrition, growth, sense perception, knowing, and willing. Such destruction might damage the well-being of human beings now and in the future, since our well-being is essentially dependent on a sustainable environment see Passmore ; Bookchin ; Norton et al.

Environmental Ethics

Yet, in addition to any such value, it is normally said that a person, as a person, has intrinsic value, i. This coercive jurisdiction extends to defending persons and property both by force and by the credible threat of punishment for criminal or other unjust appropriation or damage.

It is in light of this teaching that Aquinas interprets St. Their preservation is a bequest for future generations as they have been inherited from our ancestors and should be passed down to future generations so they can have the opportunity to decide whether to enjoy unspoiled countryside or an entirely urban landscape.

Then one would turn to, say, triangle and seek its properties, after which one would go on to scalene and isosceles. The Japanese, who evolved the hokku, evolved also the Noh plays. The form of sphere above sphere, the varying reaches of light, the minutiae of pearls upon foreheads, all these are parts of the Image.

But Grisez gave reason to think these abbreviations both exegetically and philosophically unsound. But what is the best regime? Seeing these on the analogy of change as already analyzed, we look for a subject, a privation, and a form.

Just War Theory

These sermons on the commandments, the creed, the Our Father, and Hail Mary were very popular. But this circumstantial evidence is only our first clue about this in the Apology.

Aquinas' Moral, Political, and Legal Philosophy

Since this date commonly falls within Lentthe revision of the calendar moved his memorial to 28 January, the date of the translation of his relics to Church of the JacobinsToulouse.

In a disenchanted world, there is no meaningful order of things or events outside the human domain, and there is no source of sacredness or dread of the sort felt by those who regard the natural world as peopled by divinities or demons Stone As Aquinas explains, "the good of any virtue, whether such virtue direct man in relation to himself, or in relation to certain other individual persons, is referable to the common good, to which justice directs: The concepts come to be in us as a result of our engagement with the sensible world.

University of Wisconsin Press, And so also is the substantial form of the human immaterial in that sense. Thus the goals of economic and social development must be defined in terms of sustainability in all countries—developed or developing, market-oriented or centrally planned.

Furthermore, the inquiries in which the believer who philosophizes engages will often indicate his religious interests. Like Aristotle, Thomas holds that there is a plurality of both theoretical and practical sciences. Contrary to most modern economic theories, Aquinas understands money to be nothing more than a medium for exchanging commodities and thus subject to the requirements of commutative justice.

Is the person that is the soul identical to the person that is Socrates? All poetic language is the languge of exploration.Thomas Aquinas Homework Help Questions.

What was St. Thomas Aquinas' view of the role of the state?Need to answer in words. St.

Thomas Aquinas Critical Essays

Thomas Aquinas believed that the state, like the church, was a. It was one of the rules which, above all others, made Doctor Franklin the most amiable of men in society, "never to contradict anybody." If he was urged to announce an opinion, he did it rather by asking questions, as if for information, or by suggesting doubts.

Environmental ethics is a branch of applied ethics and a part of environmental philosophy. It developed out of three insights: first, that ethics cannot be built without the consideration of natural beings, nature, or the Earth because all beings on Earth are interconnected; second, that the scope of ethics should include future consequences, and so ethics should have an inter-generational.

Thomas Aquinas Essay Thomas Aquinas (ca.

Thomas Aquinas

–) was an Italian Christian philosopher and theologian. Born into wealth and possessing royal connections, he became a Dominican friar after his father died, to the displeasure of his family. Although he doesn't confess to this in the book, the transition from Aquinas to Heidegger was a major step in the development of Caputo's thinking, eventually leading him to become one of the foremost Derrida scholars in the US.

The selections not only include St. Thomas Aquinas’s views on government, law, war.

Aquinas in politics and ethics essay
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Thomas Hunt Morgan
American biologist

Thomas Hunt Morgan

American biologist

Thomas Hunt Morgan, (born Sept. 25, 1866, Lexington, Ky., U.S.—died Dec. 4, 1945, Pasadena, Calif.), American zoologist and geneticist, famous for his experimental research with the fruit fly (Drosophila) by which he established the chromosome theory of heredity. He showed that genes are linked in a series on chromosomes and are responsible for identifiable, hereditary traits. Morgan’s work played a key role in establishing the field of genetics. He received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1933.

Early life

Morgan’s father, Charlton Hunt Morgan, was a U.S. consul, and his uncle, John Hunt Morgan, had been a Confederate army general.

Early in life, Morgan showed an interest in natural history. In 1886 he received the B.S. degree from the State College of Kentucky (later the University of Kentucky) in zoology and then entered Johns Hopkins University for graduate work in biology. At Hopkins, Morgan studied under the morphologist and embryologist William Keith Brooks. After being awarded the Ph.D. in 1890, Morgan remained there a year before accepting a teaching post at Bryn Mawr College.

Experiments in embryology

During the period 1893–1910, Morgan applied experimental techniques to fundamental problems of embryology. In order to identify causally related events during development, he analyzed such problems as the formation of embryos from separated blastomeres (early embryonic cells) and fertilization in nucleated and nonnucleated egg fragments. As examples of the effects of physical factors, he analyzed the way in which the spatial orientation of eggs affects their future development and the action of salt concentration on the development of fertilized and unfertilized eggs. In 1904 he married one of his graduate students at Bryn Mawr, Lillian V. Sampson, a cytologist and embryologist of considerable skill. The same year, he accepted an invitation to assume the professorship of experimental zoology at Columbia University, where, during the next 24 years, he conducted most of his important research in heredity.

Like most embryologists and many biologists at the turn of the century, Morgan found the Darwinian theory of evolution lacking in plausibility. It was difficult to conceive of the development of complex adaptations simply by an accumulation of slight chance variations. Moreover, Darwin had provided no mechanism of heredity to account for the origin or transmission of variations, except his early and hypothetical theory of pangenesis. Although Morgan believed that evolution itself was a fact, the mechanism of natural selection proposed by Darwin seemed incomplete because it could not be put to an experimental test.

Morgan had quite different objections to the Mendelian and chromosome theories. Both theories attempted to explain biological phenomena by postulating units or material entities in the cell that somehow control developmental events. To Morgan this was too reminiscent of the preformation theory—the idea that the fully formed adult is present in the egg or sperm—that had dominated embryology in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Although Morgan admitted that the chromosomes might have something to do with heredity, he argued in 1909 and 1910 that no single chromosome could carry specific hereditary traits. He also claimed that Mendelian theory was purely hypothetical: although it could account for and even predict breeding results, it could not describe the true processes of heredity. That each pair of chromosomes separates, with the individual chromosomes then going into different sperm or egg cells in exactly the same manner as Mendelian factors, did not seem to be sufficient proof to Morgan for claiming that the two processes had anything to do with each other.

The work on Drosophila

Morgan apparently began breeding Drosophila in 1908. In 1909 he observed a small but discrete variation known as white-eye in a single male fly in one of his culture bottles. Aroused by curiosity, he bred the fly with normal (red-eyed) females. All of the offspring (F1) were red-eyed. Brother–sister matings among the F1 generation produced a second generation (F2) with some white-eyed flies, all of which were males. To explain this curious phenomenon, Morgan developed the hypothesis of sex-limited—today called sex-linked—characters, which he postulated were part of the X-chromosome of females. Other genetic variations arose in Morgan’s stock, many of which were also found to be sex-linked. Because all the sex-linked characters were usually inherited together, Morgan became convinced that the X-chromosome carried a number of discrete hereditary units, or factors. He adopted the term gene, which was introduced by the Danish botanist Wilhelm Johannsen in 1909, and concluded that genes were possibly arranged in a linear fashion on chromosomes. Much to his credit, Morgan rejected his skepticism about both the Mendelian and chromosome theories when he saw from two independent lines of evidence—breeding experiments and cytology—that one could be treated in terms of the other.

In collaboration with A.H. Sturtevant, C.B. Bridges, and H.J. Muller, who were graduates at Columbia, Morgan quickly developed the Drosophila work into a large-scale theory of heredity. Particularly important in this work was the demonstration that each Mendelian gene could be assigned a specific position along a linear chromosome “map.” Further cytological work showed that these map positions could be identified with precise chromosome regions, thus providing definitive proof that Mendel’s factors had a physical basis in chromosome structure. A summary and presentation of the early phases of this work was published by Morgan, Sturtevant, Bridges, and Muller in 1915 as the influential book The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity. To varying degrees Morgan also accepted the Darwinian theory by 1916.

In 1928 Morgan was invited to organize the division of biology of the California Institute of Technology. He was also instrumental in establishing the Marine Laboratory on Corona del Mar as an integral part of Caltech’s biology training program. In subsequent years, Morgan and his coworkers, including a number of postdoctoral and graduate students, continued to elaborate on the many features of the chromosome theory of heredity. Toward the end of his stay at Columbia and more so after moving to California, Morgan himself slipped away from the technical Drosophila work and began to return to his earlier interest in experimental embryology. Although aware of the theoretical links between genetics and development, he found it difficult at that time to draw the connection explicitly and to support it with experimental evidence.

In 1924 Morgan received the Darwin Medal; in 1933 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of “hereditary transmission mechanisms in Drosophila”; and in 1939 he was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society of London, of which he was a foreign member. In 1927–31 he served as president of the National Academy of Sciences; in 1930 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and in 1932 of the Sixth International Congress of Genetics. He remained on the faculty at Caltech until his death.

Among Morgan’s most important books are those dealing with (1) evolution: Evolution and Adaptation (1903), in which he strongly criticizes Darwinian theory; and A Critique of the Theory of Evolution, (1916), a more favourable view of the selection process; (2) heredity: Heredity and Sex (1913), his first major exposition of the Mendelian system in relation to Drosophila; and with A.H. Sturtevant, H.J. Muller, and C.B. Bridges, The Mechanism of Mendelian Heredity (1915; rev. ed., 1922); and The Theory of the Gene (1926; enlarged and revised ed., 1928); the latter two works firmly established the Mendelian theory as it applied to heredity in all multicellular (and many unicellular) organisms; and (3) embryology: The Development of the Frog’s Egg: An Introduction to Experimental Embryology (1897), a detailed outline of the developmental stages of frogs’ eggs; Experimental Embryology (1927), Morgan’s statement on the value of experimentation in embryology; and Embryology and Genetics (1934), an attempt to relate the theory of the gene to the problem of embryological differentiation and development.

Are we living through a mass extinction?
The 6th Mass Extinction


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Health FORUM

Feb 7, 2017

Edited: Jun 2, 2018

Herbal and Natural Therapies

While such therapies are commonly used in ayurvedic and oriental medicine for treating serious conditions such as diabetes, many health experts in the west remain skeptical about their reported medical benefits.

What herbal therapies are available?

Aloe vera

Further herbal therapies

The herbs and plant derivatives listed below have been employed traditionally by native people in the treatment of diabetes, in the areas in which they grow. Many suffer from an inadequate knowledge base.

Allium sativum is more commonly known as garlic, and is thought to offer antioxidant properties and micro-circulatory effects. Although few studies have directly linked allium with insulin and blood glucose levels, results have been positive. Allium may cause a reduction in blood glucose, increase secretion and slow the degradation of insulin. Limited data is available however, and further trials are needed.

New Posts
  • Admin
    Feb 7, 2017

    Cholesterol is a naturally occurring substance made by the liver and required by the body for the proper function of cells, nerves, and hormones . Cholesterol travels in the lipids (fatty acids) of the blood stream, also called plaque, can build up in the walls of the arteries decreasing the flow of blood to vital areas of the body. If plaque continues to build long term it significantly increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Naturally lower your cholesterol with these safe, healthy methods! Normally, cholesterol is kept in balance. But, the standard western diet which contains a large amount of hydrogenated fats and refined carbohydrates leads to an upset in this balance. The imbalance is manifested in elevated LDL (bad cholesterol) and a low HDL (good cholesterol) which increases our risk for heart attack or stroke. Other causes include inactivity, diabetes, stress, and hypothyroidism. As most are aware with visits to their doctor there are three lipoproteins in our blood that are important to our health, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), and triglycerides. LDL is known as the bad cholesterol because it is low in proteins and high in cholesterol. HDL, on the other hand, is high in proteins and low in cholesterol and therefore known as good cholesterol. Triglycerides are a separate lipid in the blood stream that provide a way for the body to store excess energy, but if they are high is another warning sign. Cholesterol Normal Ranges The lipid profile blood test reports the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood steam. This is what the medical community believes the ranges should be but the most important thing to consider is the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol which should be around 2:1. Total cholesterol Below 200 mg/dL Desirable 200-239 mg/dL Borderline high 240 mg/dL and above High LDL cholesterol Below 70 mg/dL Ideal for people at very high risk of heart disease Below 100 mg/dL Ideal for people at risk of heart disease 100-129 mg/dL Near ideal 130-159 mg/dL Borderline high 160-189 mg/dL High 190 mg/dL and above Very high HDL cholesterol Below 40 mg/dL (men), Below 50 mg/dL (women) Poor 50-59 mg/dL Better 60 mg/dL and above Best Triglycerides Below 150 mg/dL Desirable 150-199 mg/dL Borderline high 200-499 mg/dL High 500 mg/dL and above Very high The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that a triglyceride level of 100 mg/dL or lower is considered “optimal.” Cholesterol Reducing Foods If you want to lower cholesterol, diet is key. Here are the top foods and nutrients that can naturally lower cholesterol: Omega-3 fats – Foods high in omega-3 fats can help increase HDL cholesterol and reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. Foods high in soluble fiber – Soluble fiber binds cholesterol in the digestive system causing it to be excreted by the body. Include plenty of fruits, vegetables, sprouted nuts and seeds and other fiber rich foods . Olive oil – Helps raise HDL cholesterol. Garlic and onions – These two cholesterol reducing foods help lower LDL cholesterol because of their sulfur containing compounds which help cleanse the arteries. Herbs – Add a variety of spices such as basil, rosemary and turmeric to your food which contain antioxidants that are cardio-protective and help lower cholesterol naturally. Foods that Raise Cholesterol Avoid these bad cholesterol foods at all costs: Sugar and refined carbohydrates – Both stimulate the liver to produce more cholesterol and increase inflammation. Alcohol – Also stimulates the liver to produce more cholesterol, increasing cholesterol levels and inflammation. A glass of red wine per day may be cardioprotective, but anything more than that will increase your cholesterol. Hydrogenated fats – Vegetable oils are pro-inflammatory and may increase cholesterol. Caffeine – Too much caffeine can increase cholesterol. Limit coffee or tea to no more than 1-2 cups per day. Trans fats – Increases LDL cholesterol, inflammation, and risk of cardiovascular disease. Top 5 Cholesterol Lowering Natural Remedies Taking the right supplements and natural remedies can help lower cholesterol levels if combined with a healthy diet. #1 Fish Oil (1,000mg – 2,000 mg daily) EPA and DHA (omega-3 fats) found in fish oil help reduce overall cholesterol levels. #2 CoQ10 (200-300 mg daily) If you are on cholesterol lowering medications, take CoQ10 daily because these medications decrease levels of this important enzyme. #3 Niacin (1,500 mg daily) Niacin (vitamin B3) reduces LDL cholesterol by 25% and increases good cholesterol by 35% #4 Red Yeast Rice (1200 mg 2x daily) Reduces cholesterol by up to 32%. Take with CoQ10 to prevent deficiency. #5 Garlic (500 mg daily) Increases HDL cholesterol and lowers total cholesterol. Exercises to Balance Cholesterol Exercise with weight training and burst training can boost HGH (human growth hormone) which can improve HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol. Essential Oils for Cholesterol Lavender essential oil has been proven to lower cholesterol levels because it decreases emotional stress. Cypress oil lowers cholesterol because it improves circulation and rosemary oil reduces cholesterol because of it’s unique anti-oxidant properties and is cardio-supportive.
  • Admin
    Feb 7, 2017

    What’s the deal with gluten? It’s a type of protein found in grains including wheat, barley and rye . It makes up about 80 percent of the amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) found in these grains. Although gluten isn’t actually found in many other ancient grains like oats, quinoa , rice or corn, modern food-processing techniques usually contaminate these foods with gluten since they are processed using the same equipment that wheat is. On top of this, gluten is now used to help make many highly processed chemical additives that are found in packaged foods of all kinds. Coupled with the fact that manufacturing can lead to cross-contamination, this means trace amounts of gluten often wind up in food products that are seemingly gluten-free — like salad dressings, condiments , deli meats and candy. This makes giving up gluten more challenging than it might initially seem. In the U.S., it’s estimated that grain flours (especially wheat products containing gluten), vegetable oils and added sugar now make up about 70 percent of the total calories most people consume each day! Considering the fact that quality proteins, healthy fats and vegetables/fruits only play a small part in the average American’s meals, it’s no surprise so many people struggle with health issues and weight control. How Is Gluten Intolerance Different than Celiac Disease? Gluten intolerance is different than celiac disease, which is the disorder that’s diagnosed when someone has a true allergy to gluten. Celiac is actually believed to be a rare disease, affecting about 1 percent or less of adults . Some research suggests that for every person diagnosed with celiac disease, another six patients go undiagnosed despite having celiac-related damage to the gut. Symptoms of celiac disease include malnutrition, stunted growth, cancer, severe neurological and psychiatric illness, and even death. However, even when someone tests negative for celiac disease, there’s still a chance he or she can have a gluten intolerance, which poses many risks of its own. For many decades in the Western medical field, the mainstream view of gluten intolerance was that you either have it, or you don’t. In other words, you either test positive for celiac disease and have an allergy to gluten, or you test negative and, therefore, should have no reason to avoid gluten-containing foods. However, today ongoing research studies along with anecdotal evidence (people’s actual experiences) show that gluten intolerance symptoms aren’t so “black and white” after all. We now know that gluten intolerance symptoms fall along a spectrum and having a sensitivity to gluten isn’t necessarily all-or-nothing. That means that it’s possible to have gluten intolerance symptoms without having celiac disease. A new term has been given to this type of condition called non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) . People with NCGS fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum: They don’t have celiac disease, yet they feel noticeably better when they avoid gluten. The extent to which this is true depends on the exact person, since different people can react negatively to gluten to different degrees. In people with gluten intolerance or NCGS, researchers have found that certain factors usually apply, including: Test negative for celiac disease (using two types of criteria, histopathology and immunoglobulin E, also called IgE) despite having similar symptoms Report experiencing both gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal symptoms (for example, leaky gut syndrome , bloating and brain fog) Experience improvements in symptoms when on a gluten-free diet Common Gluten Intolerance Symptoms Damage done by gluten-related disorders, including celiac disease and NCGS, go beyond just the gastrointestinal tract. Recent research over the past several decades suggests that gluten intolerance symptoms show up in almost every system within the body: the central nervous system (including the brain), endocrine system, cardiovascular system (including the health of the heart and blood vessels), reproductive system and skeletal system. Because gluten intolerance can lead to autoimmune reactions and increased inflammation levels (the root of most diseases ), it’s associated with numerous diseases. But the problem is that many people fail to attribute these symptoms to an undiagnosed food sensitivity. Symptoms of gluten intolerance (or NCGS) are widespread and can include: Digestive and IBS symptoms , including abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, constipation or diarrhea “Brain fog,” difficulty concentrating and trouble remembering information Frequent headaches Mood-related changes, including anxiety and increased depression symptoms Ongoing low energy levels and chronic fatigue syndrome Muscle and joint pains Numbness and tingling in the arms and legs Reproductive problems and infertility Skin issues, including dermatitis, eczema, rosacea and skin rashes Nutrient deficiencies, including anemia ( iron deficiency ) Higher risk for learning disabilities , including autism and ADHD Possibly a higher risk for neurological and psychiatric diseases, including Alzheimer’s, dementia and schizophrenia How is gluten capable of causing so many different problems? Despite what most people think, gluten intolerance (and celiac disease) is more than just a digestive problem. That’s because research suggests that gluten can actually cause significant changes in the gut microbiota — a big problem considering that our overall health depends heavily on the health of our gut. Gluten intolerance can affect almost every cell, tissue and system in the body since the bacteria that populate the gut help control everything from nutrient absorption and hormone production to metabolic function and cognitive processes. What Causes Gluten Intolerance Symptoms? There are multiple factors that can make people more likely to experience gluten intolerance symptoms: their overall diet and nutrient density , damage to the gut flora, immune status, genetic factors, and hormonal balance can all play a part. The exact way that gluten causes varied symptoms in many people has to do with its effects on the digestive tract and gut first and foremost. Gluten is considered an “antinutrient” and is, therefore, hard to digest for nearly all people, whether they have a gluten intolerance or not. Antinutrients are certain substances naturally present in plant foods, including grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Plants contain antinutrients as a built-in defense mechanism; they have a biological imperative to survive and reproduce just like humans and animals do. Because plants can’t defend themselves from predators by escaping, they evolved to protect their species by carrying antinutrient “toxins” (which in some cases can actually be beneficial to humans when they have the ability to fight off infections, bacteria or pathogens in the body). Gluten is one type of antinutrient found in grains that has the following effects when eaten by humans : It interferes with normal digestion and can cause bloating, gas, constipation and diarrhea due to its effect on bacteria living in the gut. It can produce damage to the lining of the gut, causing “leaky gut syndrome” and autoimmune reactions in some cases. It binds to certain amino acids (proteins), essential vitamins and minerals, making them unabsorbable. Leaky gut syndrome is tied to gluten intolerance, which is a disorder that develops when tiny opening form in the gut lining and then large proteins and gut microbes leak across the gut barrier. Molecules that are usually kept within the gut are then able to enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body, where they can provoke a chronic, low-grade inflammatory response. How Many People Have Gluten Intolerance? One criteria that is now being used by medical professionals to diagnose NCGS is found below. A patient usually experiences several of the five symptoms below before being diagnosed: Several typical symptoms of celiac disease (diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain, fatigue, lethargy and malnutrition) Reduced symptoms when following a gluten-free diet Indications of intestinal damage when the patient has a positive small-intestine biopsy Elevated antibodies — this can include antibodies to alpha-gliadin (a type of gluten protein) or tissue transglutaminase-2 (an enzyme found in the gut and other organs) Genetic factors that can predispose the patient to celiac disease Some estimates suggest that six to 10 times more people have a form of gluten intolerance than have celiac disease. That means one in 10 adults might have some form of NCGS or gluten intolerance. However, that being said, at this time it’s difficult for researchers to estimate the exact prevalence of gluten intolerances and NCGS because there still isn’t a definitive diagnostic test that’s used or consensus over which symptoms must be present. It’s also hard to diagnose NCGS accurately because many of the symptoms caused by gluten are broad and very similar to symptoms caused by other disorders (like fatigue, body pains and mood changes). There especially seems to be a big overlap between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms and gluten intolerance. Many people with IBS feel better when they follow a gluten-free diet. In people with IBS, gluten might cause symptoms to worsen, but it’s also a possibility that other attributes of wheat besides gluten (like amylase-trypsin inhibitors and low-fermentable, poorly absorbed, short-chain carbohydrates) can lead to poor digestion. Natural Treatment Plan for Gluten Intolerance Symptoms A. Try an Elimination Diet Doctors are sometimes hesitant to attribute a patient’s symptoms to gluten intolerance when they can be caused by other disorders, so sometimes the patient needs to take matters into her own hands. Following an elimination diet is really the best way to test your own personal reaction to gluten. The results of an elimination diet help pinpoint which of your symptoms can be attributed to gluten and let you know whether or not it’s time to go gluten-free . An elimination diet involves removing gluten from the diet completely for a period of at least 30 days (but preferably longer, such as three months) and then adding it back in. If symptoms improve during the elimination period and then reappear once gluten is eaten again, that’s a clear sign that gluten was contributing to the symptoms. However, it’s very important to test only one variable at a time (gluten) and not several (such as dairy, gluten and sugar) because this can cause you to falsely attribute symptoms. B. Follow a Gluten-Free Diet Once you do an elimination diet/gluten challenge and can determine if, and how drastically, you are intolerant to eating gluten-containing foods, you’ll know how important it is for you to follow a gluten-free diet . If you have a serious reaction to gluten when you add it back into your diet after the elimination period, you might want to get tested for celiac disease to know whether you need to avoid 100 percent of gluten indefinitely. If you’re sure you don’t have celiac disease, you should still plan avoid gluten as much as possible in order to prevent gut irritation, further digestive issues and ongoing symptoms. A gluten-free diet is one without wheat, rye and barley . This means you must avoid most baked products found in stores, flour-containing foods (like pizza or pasta at restaurants), the majority of packaged foods (bread, cereals, pastas, cookies, cakes, etc.) and some types of alcohol, including beer. Check ingredient labels carefully since gluten is hiding in many packaged foods. If you don’t have celiac disease, it’s likely that occasionally eating gluten-containing foods won’t cause long-term damage or serious health concerns, but you’ll feel better and get more accustomed to a gluten-free diet the longer you stick with it. With gluten out of the picture, focus on including more anti-inflammatory foods in your diet to repair your digestive system and heal any nutrient deficiencies. These include organic animal products, raw dairy products, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and probiotic foods . When it comes to baking, try some of these naturally gluten-free flour alternatives over wheat flour: Brown rice Sweet potato Quinoa Almond flour Coconut flour Chickpea flour What if your symptoms don’t improve when you remove all sources of gluten? Keep in mind that gluten isn’t the only thing that can cause digestive issues . Conventional dairy products, nuts, shellfish and eggs can also cause sensitives or be a source of food allergies . Many foods containing FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) have also recently been tied to digestive issues, including IBS symptoms. Some researches even suspect that for certain people, FODMAPs are the real culprit component for NCGS in wheat products, instead of simply gluten. C. Consider Having Tests Done Researchers believe that patients who test negative for two main genes that are associated with celiac disease (HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8) are also significantly less likely to have gluten intolerance or NCGS. If celiac disease or gluten intolerance runs in your family, you might want to speak to your doctor about testing for these genes, as well as antibodies that can reveal how active your immune system is. Remember that celiac disease is an autoimmune disease and will show high levels of certain antibodies (including transglutaminase autoantibodies or autoimmune comorbidities), but this might not be true for people with a gluten intolerance — or the antibody levels could be less severe. Either way, knowing for sure where you stand can be helpful if you’re more susceptible to having reactions to gluten than the average person. Other tests to consider include a zolulin test (also called a lactulose test) and a IgG food allergy test. These types of leaky gut tests  can indicate if gluten (or parasites, candida yeast and harmful bacteria) is causing gut permeability. Zolulin controls the size of the openings between your gut lining and your bloodstream, so high levels indicate permeability. Over time, if the gut lining continues to become permeable, “microvilli” (tiny cellular membranes that line the intestines and absorb nutrients from food) can become damaged, so knowing the severity of your condition can be important for stopping the problem from getting worse. But Aren’t Some Gluten-Containing Whole Grains (Including Whole Wheat) Healthy? For decades, there has been a growing emphasis on whole grains in the American diet. We’ve always been told that they are full of fiber , nutrients and should be consumed multiple times every day. There’s a few reasons why this is true: They are cheap to produce, shelf-stable, can easily be shipped and stored, and are used to make various processed products that have a big profit margin. All things considered, the nutrient density for grains is pretty low, especially when you consider the bioavailability of their nutrients. Many of the vitamins or minerals that are present in grains cannot actually be utilized by the body because of the presence of antinutrients, including gluten, described earlier. While whole grains are a part of some of the healthiest diets in the world (like the Mediterranean diet ), they’re also usually balanced by plenty of nutrient-dense foods including healthy fats (like beneficial olive oil ), vegetables, protein and fruit. Grains can certainly play their role in a balanced diet, but overall they are somewhat of a suboptimal food source when compared to more nutrient-dense foods like grass-fed animal products, fish, vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts. Therefore, having them less often than other sources of carbohydrates (like starchy veggies or fruit, for example) is a smart idea. Even grains that don’t contain gluten — like corn , oats and rice — do have proteins that are similar in structure to gluten. So even these can cause an immune response in some people. Many people feel better without any gluten, grains or legumes in their diets, but they wouldn’t even know this because they have never experienced an extended period of time without eating these foods. If you’re mostly healthy and do choose to eat grains, try to focus on eating gluten-free grains like rice, gluten-free oats , buckwheat , quinoa and amaranth . It’s also a good idea to properly prepare grains (especially types that contain gluten) by soaking, sprouting and fermenting them. Sprouting grain helps improve nutrient bioavailability, reduces the presence of gluten and other inhibitors, and makes them more digestible. Look for sourdough or sprouted grain breads (like Ezekiel bread ) ,  which are better tolerated than ordinary wheat-flour breads.
  • Admin
    Feb 7, 2017

    How to Maintain Normal Blood Sugar Most of the habits that help us maintain healthy, normal blood sugar levels are fairly obvious and simple to carry out. However, some might also surprise you, especially if you think it will be tough to start managing your blood sugar better. Small changes in your diet, exercise routine and sleep schedule can wind up making a big difference when it comes to blood sugar management. Let’s look at some of the best ways to help get you on the right track to reaching and maintaining normal blood sugar levels for life. 1. Eat a Low-Processed, Anti-Inflammatory Diet A healthy diet is key to blood sugar management and preventing or treating diabetes . It’s not that you must avoid consuming any carbohydrates or sugar when trying to maintain normal blood sugar — just that you need to balance them out with protein/fats, and focus on getting them from real, whole foods. Eating a source of protein, fiber and healthy fat with all of your meals can help stabilize blood sugar, especially when you consume carbs/sugar (such as starchy veggies like potatoes, fruit or whole grains). These slow down the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, help manage your appetite, and are also important for your metabolism and digestion. Some of the best protein foods for managing blood sugar include: wild fish such as salmon, free-range eggs, grass-fed beef or lamb, raw dairy products (including yogurt, kefir or raw cheeses), and pasture-raised poultry Healthy fats include: virgin coconut oil, MCT oil, extra virgin olive oil, nuts and seeds (like almonds, chia, hemp and flax), and avocado. Coconut oil, ghee and grass-fed butter are all some of my favorite fat-burning foods for managing blood glucose levels while also improving the taste and filling quality of your meals. High-fiber foods include: fresh veggies, whole pieces of fruit (not juice), sprouted beans or peas, and ancient grains. Some of my favorite foods especially high in fiber are artichokes, green leafy vegetables, chia seeds, flaxseeds, apples, pumpkin seeds, almonds, avocado and sweet potatoes. According to an article in Diabetic Living magazine, other foods and drinks that make great additions to a blood-sugar-stabilizing diet include apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, green tea, herbal teas, fresh herbs and spices. ( 3 ) 2. Switch Up Your Carbs & Sweeteners While all types of added sugars are capable of raising blood sugar levels, some sources of sugar/carbs affect blood glucose levels more so than others. When you use appropriate amounts sparingly, natural/unrefined, ideally organic sugar sources (such as those from fruit or raw honey) are less likely to contribute to poor blood sugar management than refined sugars (such as white cane sugar or refined products made with white/bleached wheat flour). To help sustain normal blood sugar, check ingredient labels carefully, since sugar can be listed under dozens of different names. Skip anything made with refined flour (also called wheat flour or “enriched flour”) and added sugars, such as beet sugar/beet juice, cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup , fructose and dextrose . Instead choose natural sweeteners , including raw honey, organic stevia, dates, pure maple syrup or blackstrap molasses. Most importantly, still watch your portion sizes, using only a small amount per day of even natural sweeteners (such as one to three teaspoons daily). When it comes to grain-flour products, it’s best to consume grains in their whole form whenever possible as opposed to in flour form, which tends to spike blood sugar more. But if you must use flour, choose those made with 100 percent whole grains, or else try coconut flour or almond flour for an even healthier option. In terms of beverages, stick with water, seltzer, herbal tea or black tea, and coffee. Coffee is best in moderation, meaning one to two cups daily, especially compared to sweetened drinks, juices or soda. ( 4 ) Keep in mind that alcohol can also raise blood sugar, especially if you consume sweetened alcoholic drinks (such as certain dessert/fortified wines, sherries, liqueurs, mixed drinks with juice and ciders). ( 5 ) 3. Get Regular Exercise You’re probably already aware that there are literally dozens of benefits associated with exercise . According to the National Diabetes Association, exercise manages blood sugar in more than one way. Short-term exercise helps cells in your muscles to take up more glucose in order to use it for energy and tissue repair, therefore lowering blood sugar in the process. Long-term exercise also makes cells more responsive to insulin and helps prevent resistance. ( 6 ) Doing about 30–60 minutes of exercise most days of the week (such as running, cycling, swimming and lifting weights) is also a simple, beneficial way to lower inflammation, manage stress, improve immunity and balance hormones. Insulin sensitivity is increased, so your cells are better able to use any available insulin to take up glucose during and after activity. 4. Manage Stress Excessive stress can actually cause blood sugar levels to rise due to an increased release of the “stress hormone” cortisol. Stress kicks off a vicious hormonal cycle for many people. It not only contributes to high blood sugar by raising cortisol, but also tends to increase cravings for “comfort foods” (many of which are refined and filled with sugar or other inflammatory ingredients) and often interferes with getting good sleep. ( 7 ) All around, dealing with high amounts of stress makes it less likely that people will take good care of themselves and keep up with healthy habits that contribute to normal blood sugar. For example, skipping workouts and drinking more alcohol and caffeine are both common among chronically stressed adults. These self-destructive habits contribute to even more stress, which interferes with blood sugar management even more. It’s no wonder that people who develop health problems like diabetes or heart disease, or even who wind up gaining a lot of weight and facing obesity, tend to feel more depressed and hopeless but find it hard to break the cycle and develop new habits. What are some ways you can help deal with the inevitable stresses that occur in life? Studies have found that natural stress relievers , including exercise, yoga, meditation and using relaxing essential oils for anxiety (such as lavender, rose and frankincense) are all helpful for diabetics and those with insulin resistance. ( 8 ) Other ways to wind down include spending more time outdoors, joining groups in your community, and connecting with family and friends more. 5. Get Enough Rest Being well-rested is crucial for maintaining a healthy outlook on life, sticking with healthy habits and even managing hormone levels. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 35 percent of Americans report getting less than the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night, raising their risk for numerous health problems, including type 2 diabetes. ( 9 ) A lack of sleep can raise stress and appetite hormones (like cortisol and ghrelin , which make you hungry), making it harder to void sugary snacks, refined grain products and caffeine overdose . Sleep and metabolic processes are linked in several key ways, and research shows our natural circadian rhythms can trigger high blood glucose or raise the risk for diabetes when they’re disturbed. Sleeping too little, getting poor quality sleep or sleeping at the wrong times can impair insulin secretion even if you don’t change your diet. Aim to get between seven to nine hours of sleep per night, ideally by sticking with a normal sleep/wake schedule — in order to balance hormones , curb stress responses, and have enough energy to exercise and keep up with your day.


zebrafish embryoIn research with zebrafish embryos like this one, scientists found two specific factors are needed to activate DNA in the newly formed genome.Credit: iStock

Within hours after fertilization, a unique genome forms from chromosomes contributed by the egg and sperm. However, this new genome is initially inactive and must be "awakened" to begin the transcription of its DNA and start embryonic development. How life's first step happens has long fascinated developmental biologists.

"This is the beginning of life from a molecular standpoint," said Antonio Giraldez, the Fergus F. Wallace Professor of Genetics and chair of the Department of Genetics at Yale. "What hasn't been clear is how and what kick-starts the transcriptional activity of the embryonic genome, so that the embryo starts taking control of its own development with its own genetic blueprint."

Giraldez and his research team at Yale found that two specific factors are needed to activate DNA in the newly formed genome, they report June 17 in the journal Developmental Cell. Using a combination of microscopy and RNA sequencing analysis, they revealed the pattern of transcription within the nucleus of a zebrafish embryo.

The researchers also developed tools to visualize the first activated gene in the zebrafish genome, known as miR-430, and trace the gene's activity in living embryos.

"Now we can visually look inside the nucleus and analyze how the first gene within the silent genome is awakened," said Shun Hang Chan lead author of the study and a doctoral student working in the Giraldez lab.

The activation of the zebrafish genome requires the presence of two proteins—P300 and Brd4—produced by the mother. Disruption of the activity of these two proteins using small molecule inhibitors prevents the activation of the embryonic genome, which in turn blocks development of the embryo. However, researchers found that even after they blocked the production of these maternal proteins, they could overcome this block and prematurely kick-start activation of the embryonic genome through the artificial introduction of P300 and Brd4.

"These molecular factors act as a sort of molecular timer, which sets the timing of genome's awakening," Giraldez said. "Finding these key factors involved in genome activation serve as the critical first step towards our understanding of how life begins."


MMP wants to connect to connect young Portuguese seafarers graduated from the Portuguese traning centres to the global universe of shipping, promoting employability.

Supporting Portugal’s maritime competence

Supporting the Portuguese education program is the aim of the close dialogue between the ENIDH and MARÍTIMOS.

ENIDH appreciates the network of interested shipping companies that MARÍTIMOS is providing towards young Portuguese seafarers,

while MARÍTIMOS enjoys the maritime expertise and the support of the ENIDH in practical matters, as for the ERASMUS + Program.

MARÍTIMOS creates the link between shipping companies and students of the ENIDH. The MARÍTIMOS management considers this being an important part of their dedication to the project and to demonstrate the value in the Portuguese maritime competence.

MMP - Marítimos Manning Portugal, LDA

Avenida Arriaga, 42b Edifício Arriaga 6.2

9000-064 Funchal

Madeira | Portugal

+351 214 821 395


XRP(XRPBTC): short term correction at MINIMUM

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chart speaks for itself. For a short period early on the in bear market XRP acted as a hedge for btc so it would not be unreasonable to assume XRP might still hold on for a little while longer while btc is falling, although the green buy zone needs to be watched for a break down. While the price does drop below the buy zone for a few days I decided to consider those to be outliers since the buy zone where its at now capture's more price rebounds.


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